ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, November 6, 1996 TAG: 9611060016
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: ROBERT FREIS STAFF WRITER
The face of poverty in Montgomery County might surprise anyone who assumes that most people on welfare are minorities with many children.
Instead, the average welfare recipient in this generally suburban county is a mature, single, white woman with a pair of children and at least a high school degree.
That's according to the county Department of Social Service's annual report for 1995-96.
"It goes against the stereotypical image of the welfare client," said Dan Farris, the department's director.
The local figures conform to a national study released last month that said most welfare recipients are white and residents of rural areas.
That report, compiled by the Population Reference Bureau from Census data, also said 40 percent of the nation's poor live in families headed by single females.
In Montgomery County, 90 percent of welfare families are headed by women. Just over 500 families in the county were receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children benefits earlier this year.
Of the 1,179 individuals receiving AFDC, 86 percent were white, 62 percent had a high school education or some college training. The average number of children per family was two; only 6 percent of the families were headed by mothers under 21.
During the period covered by the report, the county Department of Social Services paid slightly more than $2 million in AFDC benefits designed for children in needy homes.
In comparison, $13.8 million was paid to county Medicaid recipients last year. Medicaid helps pay for health care for low-income families with children as well as the disabled, aged and blind. And yet, as Farris notes, the focus of state and welfare reform has been on the relatively less-costly AFDC program and its clients.
"Medicaid is mushrooming," Farris said. "But it's the tail that's wagging the dog."
The number of local AFDC clients declined sharply last year, about 20 percent from 1994-95, and the amount of benefits was $700,000 less. Farris said a somewhat brighter economic picture and lower unemployment rates probably factor into those drops.
Spending on Medicaid, which pays medical bills such as prescription drugs, doctor visits and nursing home or hospital care, increased by $400,000.
By far, it's the largest component of the $19.9 million in benefits paid to needy county residents last year. And there's no end to the trend of increases in sight, Farris said.
The county's food stamp program also declined in number of recipients (2,092, down 5.9 percent) and value of stamps ($3.8 million, down 3.9 percent).
Farris cautioned against interpreting fewer AFDC and food stamp clients as sure-fire indicators of better times.
"We have a lot of people functioning right on the edge. There are a lot of working poor out there. The loss of a job, a family breakup, a doctor bill or a new child could push them over the limit."
Social workers continue to see people who are seeking public relief for the first time and struggling with the stigma of asking for help, he said.
"Some come in almost apologetically. Others would rather make do with what they've got. Peer pressure keeps the numbers down."
Other statistics from the annual report show contrasting trends in the number of adult and child abuse complaints investigated by the county.
Farris' department investigated 429 cases of adult abuse or neglect, a 12 percent increase over the previous year. Two-thirds of the cases involved senior citizens; more than half of the victims were women.
However, child abuse or neglect investigations declined 37 percent from the previous year to 237. Farris said some of the decline may be misleading, because of changes in record-keeping.
Child abuse complaints remain among the department's most difficult cases to investigate, he added.
Montgomery County isn't scheduled to join the state's Workfare program until 1999, but the Department of Social Services is continuing its own employment services program to help make clients economically self-sufficient.
Last year, 170 participants found jobs with an average hourly wage of $5.70, the report said. In 1994-95, the program found jobs for 119 people at an average hourly wage of $5.42.
The report also says the county prosecuted three cases of welfare fraud involving $6,107 in illegally obtained benefits. Also, $29,633 was repaid by clients who received payments "inappropriately."
In all, public relief was a $23.1 million business in Montgomery County, totaling benefits paid and administrative costs for the Department of Social Services. Of that amount, only $426,447 came exclusively from local funds - although state and federal taxpayers were ultimately the source for the entire amount.
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